The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) on Tuesday called on the Nicaraguan government to cease “judicial, police and institutional harassment” of critical voices, denouncing the closure of 49 media outlets and the forced exile of at least 263 journalists.
The government of President Daniel Ortega must “put an end to the arbitrary use of administrative, legislative, judicial, financial and police mechanisms that impede the exercise of freedom of expression and other fundamental rights,” said the IAPA in releasing a report on the deterioration of freedoms in the Central American country.
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The report notes that following the 2018 protests against the Ortega government, Nicaragua has seen “selective attacks against journalists, activists, artists, media outlets, students, clerics,[and]political opponents” intensify and increase. [y}opositorespolíticos”
The 2018 protests left at least 300 dead, according to the UN, and were viewed by Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, as a coup attempt sponsored by Washington.
The Ortega government must “cease the judicial, police and institutional harassment against critical voices and against those who exercise their right to free expression and peaceful protest,” said the IAPA.
The report highlights that since then the “persecution” of independent media “has worsened” and “freedom of expression has reached a critical state, practically non-existent.”
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“Press freedom has been under attack through the closure of media outlets, the confiscation of the properties where they operated and the silencing of independent journalistic practice,” the IAPA added.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the situation in Nicaragua as a “matter of international concern” and the NGO Reporters Without Borders considers it “a horror movie.”
